The present invention is directed to a device for cleaning the feet of house cats that use a litter pan or box.
Though litter boxes provide a great convenience for cat owners, the litter, be it clay or granules, become caught in the pet""s paws or feet, causing problems for the cat owner. Household pets typically have fur or hair, and a number of pads per paw. The litter material becomes temporarily caught in the hair and between the pads, and trailed along the floor or carefully ingested by the meticulous cat.
Sanitary pathways are not unknown, but such pathways have most commonly been developed for people. For example, sanitary manufacturing conditions may require the use of a sticky path to remove dirt from the sanitary cloth booted shoes of workers entering the sanitary manufacturing environment. A sticky path is inappropriate for household pets as the amount of litter trailed out of the box, or dirt trailed into the house, is too great, requiring too frequent changing of the sticky material.
Footbaths of water or disinfectant solutions have been used at the entrance to pools or spas, where wet feet are not a problem. Such is not the case for the cat re-entering the sanitary household. Multi-padded and furry feet can hold a lot of water (and thereby, dirt). In fact, footbaths for pets would increase the problems of the cat owners, by increasing the movement and tackiness of the litter, dirt or debris, allowing it to travel farther.
Open grids at the entrance to public buildings are used to prevent water accumulation and the possibility of slip and fall accidents. Open grids in heated air heating systems located at the entrance of a public building such as a store or office building may serve, unintentionally, to prevent water accumulation, and to rid the shoes of most of the debris acquired outdoors.
The present invention comprises a sanitary pathway for cleaning the feet of household cats. The sanitary cat path comprises an apertured walkway and elevational supports for the walkway. The apertured walkway may be a screen or lattice, through which cat litter, dirt or hair may easily pass. Wall panels, with or without a ceiling, or other means for encouraging or forcing the cat to traverse the length of the walkway, are also provided. The length of the walkway is at least the length of the gait of the cat. Debris which has fallen through the walkway is covered by the walkway and not visually obvious, or easily scattered across the floor. However, a removable clean-up tray may be provided, and positioned beneath the walkway to collect the dirt, litter, etc.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the sanitary cat path is located at the entrance/exit opening of a covered cat litter box. The cat path may be fixed about the entrance/exit of the covered cat litter box, or maintained at a short distance from the entrance/exit, such that the cat is encourage not to exit between the litter box and the walkway. A baseboard for the litter box may extend from the sanitary cat path, such that the weight of the litter box (and litter) maintains the walkway adjacent the litter box. The cat path may also be used in conjunction with a corralled litter box, where the walls of the corral encourage the cat to the opening of the corral and the walkway.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sanitary cat path is adapted to be placed in front of a cat door of the type which permits the cat to leave and reenter a building, such as a house. The cat path thus traps the dust and dirt which would otherwise be tracked into the house.
For a full understanding of the present invention, reference should now be made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.